One of my favourite all-time actors, Paul Newman, died yesterday

A lot of you probably haven't seen one of his best films - The Hustler - though it should be compulsory viewing for any serious poker player.

He plays an extremely talented pool hustler, who's only downfall is his own ego, which frequently swells up to compensate for his low self-esteem while under pressure.

This lack of centredness causes him to ultimately lose back all the money he grinds day in and day out when he takes shots against high-stakes sharks, because, even though he is more talented than they are, he is also less inwardly controlled and more prone to letting emotion get in the way when large stakes are on the line.

Sound familiar? Sound at all ****ing relevant?!

If there were an application process for becoming a professional poker player, one of the core components would have to be seeing and reflecting on this film.

It was heralded in its day (2 oscar wins, 9 nominations) and is a great film in any context... but for a poker player, jeez.

Absolutely compulsory viewing for anyone with any attention span whatsoever.

One of my favourite scenes comes after Fast Eddie's backer gives up on him, telling him it doesn't matter how talented he is, he was a born loser and thus will always lose when it counts (he has just tilted off his roll playing a 48 hour match where he was crushing at the start and tilting at the end).

Eddie starts off lamenting his own mistakes to his girlfriend, berating himself, but in the process winds up delivering some of the most inspirational film dialogue I have ever heard:

"Now why'd I do it, Sarah? Why'd I do it? I coulda beat that guy, coulda beat 'im cold, he never woulda known. But I just hadda show 'im. Just hadda show those creeps and those punks what the game is like when it's great, when it's REALLY great.

You know, like anything can be great, anything can be great. I don't care, BRICKLAYING can be great, if a guy knows. If he knows what he's doing and why and if he can make it come off.

When I'm goin', I mean, when I'm REALLY goin' I feel like a... like a jockey must feel. He's sittin' on his horse, he's got all that speed and that power underneath him... he's comin' into the stretch, the pressure's on 'im, and he KNOWS... just feels... when to let it go and how much.

Cause he's got everything workin' for 'im: timing, touch. It's a great feeling, boy, it's a real great feeling when you're right and you KNOW you're right. It's like all of a sudden I got oil in my arm. The pool cue's part of me.

You know, it's uh - pool cue, it's got nerves in it. It's a piece of wood, it's got nerves in it. Feel the roll of those balls, you don't have to look, you just KNOW. You make shots that nobody's ever made before. I can play that game the way... NOBODY'S ever played it before."

Chills every time.

Is this not why every talented poker player continues to play the game once they begin to understand it?

Is this not what we all strive for?

See this film.

The Sting is another one of my favourites, and other obvious great Newman roles are Cool Hand Luke and Butch Cassidy - all three are similar type of hustler/outsider roles that should appeal to poker players.

With all the activism, charity work, his successful salad dressing business (!), amazing roles, and admiration from beautiful women it must have been an amazing life.

RIP!